I 'm a Nadal fan
I think Federer is a gentleman I cannot hate him unless he is disrespectful toward Nadal

this is how it works for me: I like him when he is to play against young and too ambitious and disrespectful player
if he plays Djokovic I will support him though he needs not my support at all ...I know he will beat him always
I will be Federer supporter too if he plays Roddick or Blake...

roger does not play in a weak era, he is just too talented to prevent others form winning more slams.

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This is so true. The whole 'weak era' bullsh!t is pretty much the only thing a Fed-hater can come up with to discredit his achievements; and yet you could put him into any other era and suddenly your McEnroes and Connors would be like Roddicks with a slam each at most. FEDERER MAKES THE COMPETITION LOOK WEAK BY DENYING EVERYBODY ELSE THE TITLES, it's not that fcuking complicated. Roddick would have perhaps 4 slam titles if Fed didn't exist.

I remember thinking at the end of 2003, there have now been two years with eight different slam winners. Where is 'the man to beat'? We had JCF at number 1 and everything was wide open, but for me it was a little boring. We had Johannsson and Costa winning slams, people just seemed to be fluking it, we needed a new bonafide 'legend'. Then Federer showed everybody what time it was, and now the whole field has had to raise their game in an attempt to keep up. It's so much better with someone setting the pace, and the quality of tennis that he brings to the tournaments is far more watchable.

This is so true. The whole 'weak era' bullsh!t is pretty much the only thing a Fed-hater can come up with to discredit his achievements; and yet you could put him into any other era and suddenly your McEnroes and Connors would be like Roddicks with a slam each at most. FEDERER MAKES THE COMPETITION LOOK WEAK BY DENYING EVERYBODY ELSE THE TITLES, it's not that fcuking complicated. Roddick would have perhaps 4 slam titles if Fed didn't exist.

I remember thinking at the end of 2003, there have now been two years with eight different slam winners. Where is 'the man to beat'? We had JCF at number 1 and everything was wide open, but for me it was a little boring. We had Johannsson and Costa winning slams, people just seemed to be fluking it, we needed a new bonafide 'legend'. Then Federer showed everybody what time it was, and now the whole field has had to raise their game in an attempt to keep up. It's so much better with someone setting the pace, and the quality of tennis that he brings to the tournaments is far more watchable.

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i have to disagree, i think it would be more entertaining to see different matches and tournaments/slams winners than the same final and the same result

i have to disagree, i think it would be more entertaining to see different matches and tournaments/slams winners than the same final and the same result

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Well it depends if you actually like tennis or not. For example if you took Federer out of the 2004 US Open, you may have had a Hewitt vs Henman final. Great, Hewitt probably would have won and it might have been a close match. But take a look at the tennis itself. We saw what Federer did to those opponents, he delivered a game that was out of this world, we were so lucky to see that quality of tennis, players like him, and tennis of that standard, are so rare. I can see Henman vs Hewitt quality tennis every day of the week during most stages of any ATP event.

To conclude, I would like to answer your curious question as to why some fans like me prefer Federer. I like Federer and want him to always win because I find his game to be the most beautiful, elegant,interesting and wonderful to watch of all the players. There is aesthetic beauty in his game which should be very visible for anybody who loves and admires beauty and art. In addition, I also love the cool and effortless manner in which he displays his beautiful art. I love to watch beauty mixed with elegance and always want beauty to triumph rather than those ugly and nasty fist pumps, unpleasant stares and annoying vamos.

Federer is the best thing ever happen to tennis.. People just can't stand to see him bagel all of the american guys.. Federer just has a beautiful, smooth and fluid strokes.. he's great and humble on & off court.. It does not matter if he is going to lose or win another tourney, he's just great for the sports. Look at American players, they are really sucks... Mentally fragile and brainless.. I meant the current players.. I just missed the old Sampras, Change, Courier.. etc days.. it was fun, competitive & interesting.

I wont generalise but ive seen some in these boards who expect everyone to praise federer. If you say something like Nadal is leading federer 6-3 in their matches against each other you see Fedfans thinking this guy hates Federer.

And he isnt GOAT! Roger sayd it himself, if he would stop now he wouldnt have any of the big records. Again I must hate Federer since I denied him the title of the GOAT. Ya its very likely that he will break the records but lets wait for that and let the past champions have the glory as long as it lasts.

I love to watch Federer play, but I dont mind him losing once a while. Its actually refreshing. I like Nadal over Federer but last season I was ruding for Federer since he was the underdog at clay. WOW I sayd Federer is underdog, Man im really hating him.

Maybe some of us dont hate Federer, we just think hes a man among others. So go ahead. Bash me! Im a fed hater since I havent praised him enough in this post

And to the OP. Why hate Nadal, bashing him as a topspin monkey? How often you see this kind of comments here in the boards? Ive never seen anyone comment on Federer on a personal level.

Come on !! Caulcano and Larry123 !! Fist pumps, Vamos shoutings and those seemingly intimidating stares are indicative of PASSION and FIGHTING SPIRIT!! You would do these when you are on courts playing too because you are glad about the winning shots you made...

Come on !! Caulcano and Larry123 !! Fist pumps, Vamos shoutings and those seemingly intimidating stares are indicative of PASSION and FIGHTING SPIRIT!! You would do these when you are on courts playing too because you are glad about the winning shots you made...

PASSION can triumph over Art and Beauty mind you!

A martial artist and a jiu jitsu expert ? see who will win??

I like this passion that animates Nadal on court

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I like his general style of play, but it's the fist pumping/shouting he does when an opponent makes an error that I dislike most.

I don't believe anybody really hates Federer. I admit I like it better when there's more contenders for the #1, like, for instance, the Borg-Connors-Vilas era. But the lack of challenging contenders it's not Federer fault.

I'm just trying to understand why people are hating on him so much. For one thing, I'm trying to understand how anyone could call his game boring. How can you not enjoy him playing? His strokes and movement are so fluid, he contructs points better than just about anybody in the game right now and he can play both offensive and defense. He's one player that I enjoy watching whether he's bageling a guy or if he's in a close match. And as for those who say that he's arrogant, I'd have to disagree. He's just honest and tells it like it is. He doesn't put up any false displays of modesty because he knows (and any other sane person knows) that he's the best out there right now.

I am not his fan because I think he benefits from an overall very weak era, has an ego that is incredibly obnoxious, and tries to mask it behind an "I'm so nice and humble" attitude this is so phony he could easily be a politician. Even if he wins 20+ slams I will never think he was the greatest tennis player of all time because aside from Nadal he is not playing any other great players. McEnroe, Sampras, Laver, Gonzalez (Pancho that is), Lendl etc. These are all guys I think are better players no matter what Federer does with the rest of his career.

He is a mentally fragile player that plays against weak people. Just look at what happens to him when someone dares to stand up to him. He falls apart (i.e. against Nadal generally and Canas in the last month or two).

What I don't understand is why ARE people his fan? Generally I like people that seem to be good people first and foremost. This is why I like Nadal. I like his attitude and fighting spirit. He seems to be genuinly down to Earth (before the Wimbledon final he stated he can only beat Roger "Sometimes" after the interviewer said he "always" won, and then went on to say he would have to play the match of his career to win. I like that) whereas someone like Roger after getting repeatedly spanked by Nadal goes off to say he is one dimensional and that he is still the obvious number 1. That is unbelievably obnoxious, and I don't see how a single person can root for that.

It has been my observation that a lot of the Federer fans attach themselves to him as if his accomplishments somehow bolster their own lives or sense of self worth. I find that odd myself. I know this is not unique to tennis, and is a problem with all sports, but Federer fans seems to live and thrive on his wins. I would suggest some sunshine for these people.

Tennisandmusic, has it right. I love the other guy's thing about Fed lucky to not be playing the qualies. LOL I want to see someone take a screwdriver to the Federbot on clay, again. A real nobody would be awesome.

Federer is arrogant and cocky. He discredits and credits his opponents in the same sentence. There is more than enough evidence of this. Those who choose to ignore it do so willingly.

Federer is mentally weak against tough opponents. If the opponent doesn't give him the match due to nerves, or self-belief it is Federer himself who will crumble.

Federer is a crybaby. Notice during the Canas match how he started acting like Canas was taking too much time between points. A similar ruse he pulled against Nadal. Had the people clocking Nadal between points to see if he was going over time. That didn't last because it was a lie! At any rate Nadal picked up the pace and kicked his behind even faster.

Federer is a coward. He gets people on his side and allow them to be the haters of Nadal. Ex: Ljubicic. Ironic, Ljubicic, the biggest Fed Lover also has issues with Nadal and Canas. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Fed is pouty, boorish, and insecure. He masks all this with feigned humility, but some are not fooled, because actions speak louder than words. It is his actions, folks, not his words that turn many off.

What kind of person would call up the current GOAT, ten years older to play with him, only to announce that he wanted to beat him in his own backyard? This is a graceful, humble champion? In the words of JMac, you cannot be serious, or a loud LLeyton Hewitt, c'mon!

Anyone who likes Federer to me has the bigger problem. Sometimes we have to believe the evidence in front of us, and the evidence suggests something totally different.

All of the worship is sickening. Federer is a man just like anyone else. It's one thing to like a player, but to love someone you don't even know borders on insanity. To refer to him as a god is beyond mentally ill, and to get angry because others don't kowtow to him suggests some type of manic behavior.

Maybe the real reason many people don't like him is because we relate to the qualities we embody. Fed embodies arrogance, cockiness, and overall poor sportsmanship, while Nadal embodies passion, humility, and grace at all times. So for the quoted 80/20 split. I proudly belong to the minority, because I personally see nothing good or gracious about Federer!

P.S.-He will never be the GOAT for me, as I prefer a much humbler and nicer champion!

Federer is arrogant and cocky. He discredits and credits his opponents in the same sentence. There is more than enough evidence of this. Those who choose to ignore it do so willingly.

Federer is mentally weak against tough opponents. If the opponent doesn't give him the match due to nerves, or self-belief it is Federer himself who will crumble.

Federer is a crybaby. Notice during the Canas match how he started acting like Canas was taking too much time between points. A similar ruse he pulled against Nadal. Had the people clocking Nadal between points to see if he was going over time. That didn't last because it was a lie! At any rate Nadal picked up the pace and kicked his behind even faster.

Federer is a coward. He gets people on his side and allow them to be the haters of Nadal. Ex: Ljubicic. Ironic, Ljubicic, the biggest Fed Lover also has issues with Nadal and Canas. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Fed is pouty, boorish, and insecure. He masks all this with feigned humility, but some are not fooled, because actions speak louder than words. It is his actions, folks, not his words that turn many off.

What kind of person would call up the current GOAT, ten years older to play with him, only to announce that he wanted to beat him in his own backyard? This is a graceful, humble champion? In the words of JMac, you cannot be serious, or a loud LLeyton Hewitt, c'mon!

Anyone who likes Federer to me has the bigger problem. Sometimes we have to believe the evidence in front of us, and the evidence suggests something totally different.

All of the worship is sickening. Federer is a man just like anyone else. It's one thing to like a player, but to love someone you don't even know borders on insanity. To refer to him as a god is beyond mentally ill, and to get angry because others don't kowtow to him suggests some type of manic behavior.

Maybe the real reason many people don't like him is because we relate to the qualities we embody. Fed embodies arrogance, cockiness, and overall poor sportsmanship, while Nadal embodies passion, humility, and grace at all times. So for the quoted 80/20 split. I proudly belong to the minority, because I personally see nothing good or gracious about Federer!

P.S.-He will never be the GOAT for me, as I prefer a much humbler and nicer champion!

Federer is arrogant and cocky. He discredits and credits his opponents in the same sentence. There is more than enough evidence of this. Those who choose to ignore it do so willingly.

Federer is mentally weak against tough opponents. If the opponent doesn't give him the match due to nerves, or self-belief it is Federer himself who will crumble.

Federer is a crybaby. Notice during the Canas match how he started acting like Canas was taking too much time between points. A similar ruse he pulled against Nadal. Had the people clocking Nadal between points to see if he was going over time. That didn't last because it was a lie! At any rate Nadal picked up the pace and kicked his behind even faster.

Federer is a coward. He gets people on his side and allow them to be the haters of Nadal. Ex: Ljubicic. Ironic, Ljubicic, the biggest Fed Lover also has issues with Nadal and Canas. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Fed is pouty, boorish, and insecure. He masks all this with feigned humility, but some are not fooled, because actions speak louder than words. It is his actions, folks, not his words that turn many off.

What kind of person would call up the current GOAT, ten years older to play with him, only to announce that he wanted to beat him in his own backyard? This is a graceful, humble champion? In the words of JMac, you cannot be serious, or a loud LLeyton Hewitt, c'mon!

Anyone who likes Federer to me has the bigger problem. Sometimes we have to believe the evidence in front of us, and the evidence suggests something totally different.

All of the worship is sickening. Federer is a man just like anyone else. It's one thing to like a player, but to love someone you don't even know borders on insanity. To refer to him as a god is beyond mentally ill, and to get angry because others don't kowtow to him suggests some type of manic behavior.

Maybe the real reason many people don't like him is because we relate to the qualities we embody. Fed embodies arrogance, cockiness, and overall poor sportsmanship, while Nadal embodies passion, humility, and grace at all times. So for the quoted 80/20 split. I proudly belong to the minority, because I personally see nothing good or gracious about Federer!

P.S.-He will never be the GOAT for me, as I prefer a much humbler and nicer champion!

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Regarding Nadal's humility, if you feel pumping fists, cheering and celebrating like crazy at your opponent's unforced errors, staring at your opponent's face when he hits a nice winner past you and all those intimidating tactics are all signs of humility, then you are ten times more mentally ill and you have many more major problems than the Federer fans whom you mentioned. Yes, I perfectly agree that actions speak louder than words. It is Nadal whose oncourt actions speak louder than his words and judging by his oncourt antics, no sane man will credit him for any of the qualities that you mentioned. It is Nadal who seem to mask himself behind a humble covering during interviews while his real nature becomes visible while he is in action on court. Yes, sometimes we have to believe the evidence in front of us - absolutely right. And from my own evidence and experience of watching Nadal on court and the way he cheers his opponent's mistakes and all those rude and nasty stares suggests something totally different about Nadal than what Nadal fans portray him to be and how he masks himself to the outside world.

How are you so sure that Nadal is very good, does not have any ego and is very down to earth? I agree that he does not speak himself as favorite like Federer does. But do you really know what is in his mind and what he really thinks? From my experience as a fan, I would say that Nadal's modesty is not genuine. He knows very well in his mind that he is the best player on clay and is the real hot favorite to win any clay court tournament. This is very evident for everyone from what he has done on the dirt the past two years. But still in his interviews, he would say that Federer is the favorite and not him. Is this modesty or a psycological tactic to shift pressure on his opponent thereby freeing himself of that pressure? Another example is Nadal would always say that Federer is miles better than him and that his own aim is to continue as number two and that number one is out of his reach. Do you believe that Nadal really feels so and that too having beaten Federer so many times? I don't think so. Seeing the way how Nadal plays and that too especially how he lifts his game against Federer, it is highly evident that he is not content with his number two spot and is very much determmined to move one level up and also very much believes he can do it. But he never speaks out his real thoughts and feelings during interviews. Is it modesty or false modesty? Federer always plainly speaks out what he really thinks and does not try to create a false modest image. I will say that Federer is more plain and straightforward.

Secondly, I find Nadal's vamos and fist pumps very bad and annoying. You say that is passion and attitude. But it may also very well be a psycological tactic to make his opponent feel uncomfortable and throw off his opponent's rythm.
And then, it should be very evident by now that Nadal is the master of gamesmanship. He clearly adopts certain tactics like delaying between points, taking injury timeouts especially while trailing, celebrating opponent's unforced errors, staring at opponent's winners and finally manipulating the crowd (remember Berdych match) with the intention to get into his opponent's head and disrupt his concentration and rythm. These tactics are very much visible for any open minded tennis viewer. These are all not the symptoms of a good person you say you always like. If you really favor good people, you should be liking Marcos Baghdatis (a genuinely nice person) instead. I feel you should spare much more thought as to who is really phony? Federer or Nadal?

So, I feel that Nadal need not be necessarily as nice and humble or down to earth as he projects himself during press interviews and as you people make him out to be. And also, Federer is not necessarily as bad or egoistic as you say he is.

To conclude, I would like to answer your curious question as to why some fans like me prefer Federer. I like Federer and want him to always win because I find his game to be the most beautiful, elegant,interesting and wonderful to watch of all the players. There is aesthetic beauty in his game which should be very visible for anybody who loves and admires beauty and art. In addition, I also love the cool and effortless manner in which he displays his beautiful art. I love to watch beauty mixed with elegance and always want beauty to triumph rather than those ugly and nasty fist pumps, unpleasant stares and annoying vamos.

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Great post Larry123, fully agree: I simply stressed those parts that explain why I am definitely a FED fan (hoping he will be able to capture the French this year ) and I am not a fan of Rafa (So boring with his pumps after even UE by his opponents )

Federer is arrogant and cocky. He discredits and credits his opponents in the same sentence. There is more than enough evidence of this. Those who choose to ignore it do so willingly.

Federer is mentally weak against tough opponents. If the opponent doesn't give him the match due to nerves, or self-belief it is Federer himself who will crumble.

Federer is a crybaby. Notice during the Canas match how he started acting like Canas was taking too much time between points. A similar ruse he pulled against Nadal. Had the people clocking Nadal between points to see if he was going over time. That didn't last because it was a lie! At any rate Nadal picked up the pace and kicked his behind even faster.

Federer is a coward. He gets people on his side and allow them to be the haters of Nadal. Ex: Ljubicic. Ironic, Ljubicic, the biggest Fed Lover also has issues with Nadal and Canas. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Fed is pouty, boorish, and insecure. He masks all this with feigned humility, but some are not fooled, because actions speak louder than words. It is his actions, folks, not his words that turn many off.

What kind of person would call up the current GOAT, ten years older to play with him, only to announce that he wanted to beat him in his own backyard? This is a graceful, humble champion? In the words of JMac, you cannot be serious, or a loud LLeyton Hewitt, c'mon!

Anyone who likes Federer to me has the bigger problem. Sometimes we have to believe the evidence in front of us, and the evidence suggests something totally different.

All of the worship is sickening. Federer is a man just like anyone else. It's one thing to like a player, but to love someone you don't even know borders on insanity. To refer to him as a god is beyond mentally ill, and to get angry because others don't kowtow to him suggests some type of manic behavior.

Maybe the real reason many people don't like him is because we relate to the qualities we embody. Fed embodies arrogance, cockiness, and overall poor sportsmanship, while Nadal embodies passion, humility, and grace at all times. So for the quoted 80/20 split. I proudly belong to the minority, because I personally see nothing good or gracious about Federer!

P.S.-He will never be the GOAT for me, as I prefer a much humbler and nicer champion!

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Your opinion is based on a single basic element: You are jealous of this guy and his achievements. Moreover, I guess, you are jealous also about the way in which he was (is) able to organize his life and career. Finally, I guess, the humble reference to an eventual GOAT as well as your past records here seems to show another weakness: You dislikes this guy simply because he is not USA and he is touching Pete's records..

In any case, as a proof that you are complily wrong, let's consider the opinion of someone who is spending a lot of time with the current players themselves, i.e. John McEnroe. Recently he said:

"He is a class guy. Maybe that's the problem, that it's difficult to find anything wrong with him. I don't think there's a guy in the locker room who doesn't like Federer. I don't think you could have made that same statement about me or about Connors and some of the other world No 1s in the past.

BTW: FED was proving just the contrary of what you are claiming but just saying:

"Of course I have clearly earned the praise and all that, but at
times I wish people gave me a bit more time and said, 'OK, you do
great stuff, etcetera, records, etcetera, but we will only evaluate
you after the end of your career and only then look at whether you
really were the best or even came close,'" Federer said.

"If I keep on like this for the next two years, then it looks like
I will be (the best). But we are not going to see that for a long
time. One must always look at the game this way - if I stopped
(playing) now, would I be the best player of all time? No, not a
chance."

When you are the best, all those jealous people are just waiting for you to make a mistake, and then they blow it up so everyone can know that they are 'right'. Federer has done nothing bad, everyone who says he did is just jealous.

World number one Roger Federer, backed by several top players, has strongly criticised the ATP's plans to downgrade the Monte Carlo claycourt tournament in 2009

The Swiss, who is top seed this week in the principality, slammed the lack of communication of the men's governing body.
"The ATP is moving really fast at the moment. Many of the players, we've had a letter signed several times about the ATP and the ITF about certain issues," Federer told reporters on Monday.
"I mean, issues like here in Monaco, with the 2009 calendar, and then obviously also things with the ITF, the weeks of Davis Cup. They don't seem to understand what we have a say, so we would just like to address this issue through the media for a change," he added.
"It's just a little scream for help. We're just not happy with the last few months. The players' meeting in Miami was a big disappointment for all of us.
"We had many issues on the table and we couldn't really discuss them at all, and decisions are being taken very soon for 2009, and we would just like to have a little say as well."
Earlier this month, Monte Carlo organisers filed an antitrust lawsuit against the ATP over its plans to downgrade the tournament from a Masters Series event.
The Hamburg claycourt event also filed a lawsuit over plans to downgrade it as the ATP are reshuffling the calendar from 2009 with Madrid moving from its present spot in October to become a spring claycourt Masters Series.
"It's been difficult, we've had a change at the top of ATP, we've been trying to talk to him (chairman Etienne de Villiers). I've had many, many meetings with him," said Federer.
"Of course he has his ideas. I wish he would just listen a little bit more to what we have to say.
"We've had a lot of issues with them (the ITF) as well, letters signed to them, told them what we think are the best Davis Cup weeks.
NO STRIKE
"They seem to respond that they know better than we do. They're not in the tennis shorts playing on the court and knowing how demanding Davis Cup and the ATP circuit is."
French Open champion Rafael Nadal, who was sitting beside Federer during Monday's news conference, ruled out the possibility of a strike.
"We want things to change but in a good way," he said.
Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, a French Open semi-finalist last year, believes the ATP is acting in the interest of the American tournaments at the expense of the European players.
"It's disappointing to see it's going to be downgraded," Ljubicic said of the Monte Carlo tournament.
"Are they afraid of U.S. tournaments? It was never an idea to touch anything over there. European players are the ones paying the price."
The towering Croatian also criticised the American players for their lack of support.
"The Americans never come here. For us it's not easy to go to Key Biscayne and Indian Wells, playing two tournaments in two weeks," he said.

Reuters News

If he was so selfish arrogant as you are claiming why he should take the defence of Monte Carlo a clay event???

- he's not American
- he's not black
- he's not a woman
- he's not a jerk
- he's a true athlete, not a celebrity
- he's reserved, educated, polite, introverted
- yet...he's the best there is, so all these childish punks are envious and feel threatened.

Considering that there are people in this world who still believe that the Earth is flat, I'm not surprised in the least that an almost universally liked athlete has several detractors. It's almost impossible to get everyone to agree on an issue.

Also, there are not too many people that hate Federer - they just happen to be a very loud minority.

World number one Roger Federer, backed by several top players, has strongly criticised the ATP's plans to downgrade the Monte Carlo claycourt tournament in 2009

The Swiss, who is top seed this week in the principality, slammed the lack of communication of the men's governing body.
"The ATP is moving really fast at the moment. Many of the players, we've had a letter signed several times about the ATP and the ITF about certain issues," Federer told reporters on Monday.
"I mean, issues like here in Monaco, with the 2009 calendar, and then obviously also things with the ITF, the weeks of Davis Cup. They don't seem to understand what we have a say, so we would just like to address this issue through the media for a change," he added.
"It's just a little scream for help. We're just not happy with the last few months. The players' meeting in Miami was a big disappointment for all of us.
"We had many issues on the table and we couldn't really discuss them at all, and decisions are being taken very soon for 2009, and we would just like to have a little say as well."
Earlier this month, Monte Carlo organisers filed an antitrust lawsuit against the ATP over its plans to downgrade the tournament from a Masters Series event.
The Hamburg claycourt event also filed a lawsuit over plans to downgrade it as the ATP are reshuffling the calendar from 2009 with Madrid moving from its present spot in October to become a spring claycourt Masters Series.
"It's been difficult, we've had a change at the top of ATP, we've been trying to talk to him (chairman Etienne de Villiers). I've had many, many meetings with him," said Federer.
"Of course he has his ideas. I wish he would just listen a little bit more to what we have to say.
"We've had a lot of issues with them (the ITF) as well, letters signed to them, told them what we think are the best Davis Cup weeks.
NO STRIKE
"They seem to respond that they know better than we do. They're not in the tennis shorts playing on the court and knowing how demanding Davis Cup and the ATP circuit is."
French Open champion Rafael Nadal, who was sitting beside Federer during Monday's news conference, ruled out the possibility of a strike.
"We want things to change but in a good way," he said.
Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, a French Open semi-finalist last year, believes the ATP is acting in the interest of the American tournaments at the expense of the European players.
"It's disappointing to see it's going to be downgraded," Ljubicic said of the Monte Carlo tournament.
"Are they afraid of U.S. tournaments? It was never an idea to touch anything over there. European players are the ones paying the price."
The towering Croatian also criticised the American players for their lack of support.
"The Americans never come here. For us it's not easy to go to Key Biscayne and Indian Wells, playing two tournaments in two weeks," he said.

Reuters News

If he was so selfish arrogant as you are claiming why he should take the defence of Monte Carlo a clay event???

Just a term for you : You are just an jealous useless guy.

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Get a grip! You think an article will change my opinion of that classless man? And BTW, I'm a female, not a male! Why would I be jealous of that ugly man?

Regarding Nadal's humility, if you feel pumping fists, cheering and celebrating like crazy at your opponent's unforced errors, staring at your opponent's face when he hits a nice winner past you and all those intimidating tactics are all signs of humility, then you are ten times more mentally ill and you have many more major problems than the Federer fans whom you mentioned. Yes, I perfectly agree that actions speak louder than words. It is Nadal whose oncourt actions speak louder than his words and judging by his oncourt antics, no sane man will credit him for any of the qualities that you mentioned. It is Nadal who seem to mask himself behind a humble covering during interviews while his real nature becomes visible while he is in action on court. Yes, sometimes we have to believe the evidence in front of us - absolutely right. And from my own evidence and experience of watching Nadal on court and the way he cheers his opponent's mistakes and all those rude and nasty stares suggests something totally different about Nadal than what Nadal fans portray him to be and how he masks himself to the outside world.

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Accept the fact that everyone isn't a FedFan! It's not the end of the world. I'm not trying to change your opinion, and you certainly aren't changing mine, so live and let live.

Your opinion is based on a single basic element: You are jealous of this guy and his achievements. Moreover, I guess, you are jealous also about the way in which he was (is) able to organize his life and career. Finally, I guess, the humble reference to an eventual GOAT as well as your past records here seems to show another weakness: You dislikes this guy simply because he is not USA and he is touching Pete's records..

In any case, as a proof that you are complily wrong, let's consider the opinion of someone who is spending a lot of time with the current players themselves, i.e. John McEnroe. Recently he said:

"He is a class guy. Maybe that's the problem, that it's difficult to find anything wrong with him. I don't think there's a guy in the locker room who doesn't like Federer. I don't think you could have made that same statement about me or about Connors and some of the other world No 1s in the past.

BTW: FED was proving just the contrary of what you are claiming but just saying:

"Of course I have clearly earned the praise and all that, but at
times I wish people gave me a bit more time and said, 'OK, you do
great stuff, etcetera, records, etcetera, but we will only evaluate
you after the end of your career and only then look at whether you
really were the best or even came close,'" Federer said.

"If I keep on like this for the next two years, then it looks like
I will be (the best). But we are not going to see that for a long
time. One must always look at the game this way - if I stopped
(playing) now, would I be the best player of all time? No, not a
chance."

Your opinion is based on a single basic element: You are jealous of this guy and his achievements. Moreover, I guess, you are jealous also about the way in which he was (is) able to organize his life and career. Finally, I guess, the humble reference to an eventual GOAT as well as your past records here seems to show another weakness: You dislikes this guy simply because he is not USA and he is touching Pete's records..

In any case, as a proof that you are complily wrong, let's consider the opinion of someone who is spending a lot of time with the current players themselves, i.e. John McEnroe. Recently he said:

"He is a class guy. Maybe that's the problem, that it's difficult to find anything wrong with him. I don't think there's a guy in the locker room who doesn't like Federer. I don't think you could have made that same statement about me or about Connors and some of the other world No 1s in the past.

BTW: FED was proving just the contrary of what you are claiming but just saying:

"Of course I have clearly earned the praise and all that, but at
times I wish people gave me a bit more time and said, 'OK, you do
great stuff, etcetera, records, etcetera, but we will only evaluate
you after the end of your career and only then look at whether you
really were the best or even came close,'" Federer said.

"If I keep on like this for the next two years, then it looks like
I will be (the best). But we are not going to see that for a long
time. One must always look at the game this way - if I stopped
(playing) now, would I be the best player of all time? No, not a
chance."

I think a lot of people may not have understood what a sport in general is all about. It's about striving to become better, achieve more and move to greater heights, all through sport.

A sportsman is always an inspiration to others like for e.g. people on this board, who haven't had that kind of success in sport. There's nothing wrong with having a terrific role-model, is there?

Federer is a fantastic sportsman, he's doing what all of us aren't able to do, which makes him a huge inspiration. How many times will be be able to witness such grace and elegance in the sport? In the midst of all the modern-day aspects of power play, Federer is actually a breath of fresh air.

A lot of people have pointed out that Federer is mentally weak, and even though I am his fan, I still agree to that statement partially. Partially, because I just think that weakness is a very general word and wrongly used in this context.

To explain that, I can just say that Federer's character is like that, and he brings it on court just like other players. E.g. Nadal, is like a Spanish bull and he gets that character on court, he is not one to get tamed. Federer is like a classic, elegant Swiss, and he brings that on court. He's not hurried, he would like to win a match using his own pace and time, and his own shots which are aesthetically executed. If the opponent is a bull, obviously he's going to have problems, and he's immediately written of as "weak". And I think his attitude is "If I lose playing my game, so be it, this is who I am".

Get a grip! You think an article will change my opinion of that classless man? And BTW, I'm a female, not a male! Why would I be jealous of that ugly man?

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LOL a desperate housewife then...LOL who should then grow up?? LOL..

BTW: I was presenting mainly an opinion of a great player in the past, i.e. John Mac, simply because this guy had more opportunities of all of us to meet and discuss with the players: Therefore his opinion is just based on solid facts due to his superior knowledge: As a consequence if this guy is telling to me that this is a "nice guy" I tend to believe you more than a desperate housewife near the 50 like you...LOL

And remember concerning idiotic behaviour you are definitely more close to that behaviour than me if we take the following definition:

"It is true of idiots, that the more absurd and foolish they are, and the more their opinions diverge from those universally held, the more likely are they to utter no word which they will wish to recall"

As well as:

No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.